


A Snapshot of the Future

by misha906 (BoopPhysics)



Series: I Need Some Space Extras [1]
Category: Parahumans Series - Wildbow
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-13
Updated: 2019-07-13
Packaged: 2020-06-27 15:54:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19794145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoopPhysics/pseuds/misha906
Summary: This is a completely self-indulgent bit of fluff set five years after the events of I Need Some Space. I wrote it as a birthday present for myself.





	A Snapshot of the Future

Of all the things to be woken up by on the flight, Taylor did not expect it to be her phone. Thankfully the cabin lights were still turned off, and the little rectangle’s buzzing was quieted by the gentle tumble of turbulence from outside, meaning she was gently roused from sleep instead of being dragged forcibly from its lovely embrace.

With a grunt, Taylor pulled the device out of her pocket and took a look at who was calling. The words ‘Devil Child’ flashed across the screen with a big green button prompting her to take the call. 

“Hey,” Taylor whispered as quietly as she could while extricating herself from the nylon restraints of her seat. She gently sidestepped a lightly snoring Dennis and hurried to sequester herself in the empty cockpit of the Dragoncraft, settling into the much comfier pilot’s seat. It always seemed weird to her why a remotely operated aircraft would need a pilot’s seat. Not that she was complaining right now.

“Yo,” Missy answered. “How’s San Diego?”

Right. San Diego was the cover story on file. Taylor peeked at the map on one of the dimly lit screens. They were somewhere over Siberia. “It’s warm,” she lied. “What’s up? Shouldn’t you be in class right now?” 

“I’m graduating in two weeks, I do what I want,” Missy muttered petulantly. Taylor clicked her tongue in disapproval. 

“Oh, you do not get to ‘tsk’ me, Miss Had To Repeat The Tenth Grade. It’s History, no one likes going to History.” Missy snapped.

“I liked History. Also, extenuating circumstances. And I still graduated on time,” Taylor replied, waving a hand through the air despite Missy’s inability to see it.

“Yeah, yeah, pat yourself on the back some more,” Missy grumbled. 

“I will, don’t worry,” Taylor said, leaning into her seat and trying to will the exhaustion in her eyes away. “So what’s up?” 

“Just wanted to talk,” Missy lied. 

“Uh huh,” Taylor said, shifting her legs so that they rested on top of the blinking computer banks. She wouldn’t hit anything important. Probably. “So what’s up?” she repeated for a third time.

Missy sighed. “I don’t get how you’re doing that. You don’t even have any bugs on me,” she said. 

“Woman’s intuition,” Taylor answered lazily. “Now tell me why you called me before I fall back asleep.” 

"That's not a thing, no matter how much you and Mom try to tell me it is." There was a shuffling sound from Missy’s end as the teen settled herself into a more comfortable position. The brat probably cordoned herself off in her Ward’s room. Taylor felt the warm, welcoming clutches of dream reach out to her as she waited for Missy to speak again. 

She almost gave into its embrace. “It’s Chris," but Missy's answer brought her back from the brink. 

Taylor groaned inwardly and wished she  _ had _ drifted back to sleep. “Of course it is.” 

“He’s ridiculous! Spends more time looking at schematics and in his workshop doing god knows what instead of—”

“Paying attention to you?” Taylor interrupted. 

“Having a life,” Missy rebutted. “I’m not saying it has to be with me, it could be anywhere else. It could be outside, it could be on his coursework, it could be—”

“With you,” Taylor interrupted again. Missy gave no response. She sighed. “Missy, just because you two are dating doesn’t mean he has to be doting on you the entire time.” 

Her sigh turned into a frown. “Wait, why are you calling me about this? Mom would know how to deal with this better than I can. And she’s probably more awake than I am.” 

“Hedging my bets. Mom’s one for two in terms of relationships. You’re one for one. Also, she wouldn’t get it. Dad might, but he’s been really busy.” 

“Well, then, talk to Dad about it when he’s not busy. And what do you mean by I’m one for one?” Taylor asked. A light on the bank of computers she was resting her legs on began to flash, prompting her to hurriedly remove them.

“I mean, you and Dennis are still together, right? You guys didn’t have a fight and break up in the sixteen hours after you left? Because that’d be pretty awkward, with the whole being on the same team and doing super secret spook stuff together thing,” Missy said.

“Technically it’s been four hours since we left, because of time zones, but no, we haven’t, he’s been too busy sleeping to break up with me,” Taylor replied.

“So, yeah, still one for one.” 

Another screen to Taylor’s side turned on, blanket white with a line of black text scrolling through. 

Weaver? It asked. Taylor directed a few flies nearby to spell out ‘Sister’ in front of the cockpit camera. The words disappeared and a thumbs up emoji flashed on screen, followed by a reminder that they were about to descend. “Does the one for one count when I’m too ugly to get anyone else?” she asked. 

“Oi, none of that self-deprecating crap,” Missy said. “Or I’ll sic Vicky on your case again.” 

“I could take her.”

“Not everything is a fight, Taylor. I could sic her on you in other ways.”

“What is she going to do, tell me how my foundation doesn’t match my skin? Complain about my costume? Make me buy new blouses? Oh, the horror, how will my credit card ever recover?” That got a chuckle out of Missy. Taylor smiled. “Speaking of the big V,” she continued. “How is she?” 

“She’s fine,” Missy relayed. “Still overbearing as all hell, but other than that she’s fine. She’s trying to get all of us to go to a concert whenever you’re back in town.” 

A tinny whir notified Taylor of the aircraft’s descent. The nose dipped forward, but she barely felt a thing as everything in the aircraft shifted to accommodate the changing angle. Eventually cloud cover faded, revealing starlit, snow-covered forest. 

“Speaking of that, actually, when  _ are _ you going to be back in town?” Missy asked. 

“I’ll be back in time for your graduation,” Taylor answered.

“Which one?” 

“Both of them.” 

There was a beat of silence as Missy digested the information. “You...you don’t have to make it back to the Arcadia one if you’re busy, you know, work takes precedence and all that—”

“Missy, I have three months of PTO and laundry. Mom and Dad couldn’t get rid of me if they tried. I’ll be back in town for both, okay? Dennis too.” Taylor interrupted insistently. 

There was a knock on the cockpit door followed by a light whoosh as it opened. A disheveled mop of curly red hair poked its way through the door, a hand still lazily rubbing at his eyes. “Taylor?” Dennis asked. 

“Yup,” Taylor replied. 

“Door’s down in five, we should get suited up.”

“Is that Dennis?” Missy asked. 

“Yup,” Taylor replied. 

“Tell him he’s a dick and he owes me a dollar.”

“Is that Missy?” Dennis asked, noticing the phone pressed against Taylor’s ear.

“Yup,” Taylor replied.

“Tell her she’s a menace and she owes me a coke.” 

“How about you two call each other and talk instead of using me as a human telephone like the adults both of you should be?” Taylor said, standing and shooing Dennis out of the cockpit. “Get going and tell everyone else to get suited up. I’ll be out in a minute. Also, you’re a dick and you owe Missy a dollar.” 

“O captain, my captain, how could you betray me so?” Dennis jokingly lamented as he waltzed out of the cockpit and the door slid shut once more. Taylor smiled, sat back down and returned her phone to her ear. She was met with mirthful laughter on the other end. 

“You gotta go?” Missy asked after she recovered. 

“Yup,” Taylor replied. “I’ll call you in a day or two, okay? To touch base. Gossip. All that good stuff.” 

“Alright,” Missy said. 

“Be good. Listen to Mom and Dad. Love you.” 

“Love you too.” 

Neither sisters hung up, instead taking the moment of respite to enjoy the quiet companionship being shared digitally despite the thousands of physical miles separating them. 

“Hey, Taylor?” Eventually Missy spoke again. 

“Yeah?” Taylor asked.

“Wherever you actually are, and whatever you’re actually doing...give them hell.” 

Taylor smiled. “..I will. Thanks, Missy.” 

A click announced Missy hanging up. Taylor gently put her phone down, but made no effort to leave her seat just yet, instead basking in the lazy quiet of the ship and watching snowflakes drift by out the window. It wasn’t until Dennis knocked at the door again did she stand up. 

“Coming.” she said.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completely self-indulgent bit of fluff set five years after the events of I Need Some Space. I wrote it as a birthday present for myself.


End file.
